Bob Marcum To Remain As MU Director Of Athletics

Woody Woodrum

05/11/2005

Marshall University announced Monday, May 9, Robert Marcum will remain as Director of Athletics at his alma mater through June 30, 2007, as Marcum signed an extention over the weekend. Marcum, who graduated from Marshall with a bachelors in social studies/physical education in 1959 and a Huntington native, will also accept a position as an adjunct professor in sports management in the MU Division of Exercise Science, Sport and Recreation (ESSR).

Bob "Kayo" Marcum was hired as AD on an interim basis in May 2002 and asked at that time to evaluate the athletic program at Marshall and help plan its future. In November of 2002, he received a contract to serve as Director of Athletics at MU through June 30 of this year. That contract, which will pay Marcum $83,050, was extended for two years so Marcum can lead the Thundering Herd athletic program from its current membership in the Mid-American Conference into the higher national profile of Conference USA, where Marshall will join a league with Southern Miss, UCF, East Carolina, Memphis, UAB in the East Division; UTEP, Tulsa, Rice, SMU, Houston and Tulane in the West Division.

"Bob Marcum is a nationally renowned Athletic Director," said interim Marshall President Michael J. Farrell in a release from the university's Office of University Communications. "He has guided our athletic program extraordinarily well during a time of major transition and we value his experience and expertise as Marshall enters Conference USA." Marcum is a former Director of Athletics at the University of Kansas (1978-82), the University of South Carolina (1982-88) and the University of Massachusetts (1992-2002). He also served as vice president of both the Atlanta Motor Speedway (1990-92) and the Charlotte (NC) Motor Speedway(1988-90).

Marcum has a masters degree in Education Administration from the University of Akron (1970) and also worked as Associate Athletic Director at Iowa State University (1971-78), following a successful career as a high school coach in Ohio. Marcum was an assistant for former WVU head coach Don Nehlen while in Ohio high school football. He was honored by his peers in 1999 when he was named as the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Northeast Region I-AA Athletic Director of the Year while at UMass. He additionally shepherded South Carolina into the Metro Conference, when the Gamecocks had not been in a league in over a decade. Marcum is also a member of the Executive Committee of NACDA, has served on the NCAA Championship and Competition Committee and I-AA Football Committee and is on the board of the National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.